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Akolade Arowolo, a 32-year-old man, who is standing trial for allegedly killing his banker wife, Titilayo (Omozoje) Arowolo, has told an Ikeja High Court that his wife exhibited strange behaviour on the day she died.
He said she could have been hypnotised, mentally unstable or drunk.
Akolade alleged that his wife’s stepmother, Toun Oyakhire, was not a good person and had pitted his wife against him.
Akolade, while being led in evidence by his lawyer, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, said he and his wife had sex on the day she died. He said they had agreed to stay indoors throughout the day since it was his birthday, adding that he, however, went out to withdraw some money which they would use in celebrating his birthday.
He said, “On June 24, 2011, after we had sex, we made some commitments one of which included that she (Titilayo) would no longer be running off to her parents’ home whenever we fought and we decided that we would do everything possible to make the marriage work. We decided that we would stay indoors till evening.
“I went out around 10am to withdraw money from the bank and I bought some items. On the way, I picked up my mechanic because he needed to repair my car. On getting home, about an hour later, the security guard and the mechanic helped me to take the items to my apartment and he (mechanic) drove the car away.
“On getting home, I realised my wife was completely dressed and she said she was going out. As I pleaded with her, she started shouting, saying that Aunty Toun (Stepmother) and Aunty Labisi told her to leave the house. She was very angry and she slapped me.”
Akolade said he ran to the house of his next door neighbour and told his neighbour’s mother, Mrs. Hannah Alaka, to intervene.
He said Mrs. Alaka called Titilayo and spoke to her by the corridor leading to the staircase and convinced her not to go out.
Akolade said he and his wife returned into their apartment and he proceeded to fuel the generator when he received a phone call from his sister-in-law, Folake Oyakhire.
He said he and Folake shared the same birthday.
Akolade said, “After speaking with Folake, she asked to speak with her sister so I started looking for my wife all over the place. I called out her name but she did not answer. On getting to the entrance to our room, I slipped and almost fell. As I attempted to hand over the phone to my wife, she stabbed me in the arm with a kitchen knife.
“She stabbed me again this time on the left side of my chest. I tried to wrest the knife from her and she started screaming, ‘I will kill you and kill myself.’ In the struggle, she stabbed me in the navel.
“Later. I asked my wife why she did this and she started apologising. I then decided to get help for her but I could not find the key to the main door to the house.”
Akolade said he scattered the wardrobe, where his wife said she had kept the keys but still could not find them.
He said, “After attempting to force open the door of the house with no success, I decided to jump from the balcony and I met the security guard and mechanic there. I jumped into my car and drove towards the Aswani Police Division.
“On my way to the station, I met some traffic policemen and I explained to them that my wife needed help. They were telling me to take care of myself first since I was covered in blood. While I was still explaining to them, an oncoming vehicle knocked me over and I fell unconscious.
“When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a strange environment and was told that it was a Good Samaritan that had rescued me. I later made a telephone call to my mother. It was the person who picked up the phone that told me that my wife was dead.”
While being cross-examined by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, Akolade told the court that his wife was alive the last time he saw her.
He said he sustained more injuries than her and even debunked the report of the pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, who had asserted in his testimony that Titilayo was stabbed 76 times, saying it was not possible for a human being to inflict such wounds on oneself.
Ogungbesan, who debunked Akolade’s testimony, said, “Akolade, why did you not inform the mechanic, neighbours or even your security guard that your wife was bleeding instead of going to the police station? Why did you not use your mobile phone to call for help?
“If you did not stab your wife to death; then who did? You said your wife was mentally unstable, are you a certified psychiatrist? Since it has been established that you were the last person to see her alive I put it to you that you stabbed your wife to death.”
Akolade answered that his wife had taken alcohol that morning.
He said, “If you had seen her that day, she was even more powerful than me. She overpowered me. I was not thinking clearly that day. That was why I ran straight to the police station without telling neighbours. It was possible that she stabbed herself to death but it was not 76 times.”
Justice Lateefa Okunnu, adjourned the matter till September 17, 2013, for the final address of counsel.
Akolade is only twisting the story of what happened that day in favour of himself. Anyone, who saw the multiple wound on Titilayo would know she was gruesomely murders.
Akolade is only twisting the story of what happened that day in favour of himself. Anyone, who saw the multiple wound on Titilayo would know she was gruesomely murders.
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